Spline-dowel for silo-staves.



F. P. CORY.

SPLINE DOWEL FUR SILO STAVES. APPucATloN man APR.15, 191s.

WITNESSES:

Patented Jan. 16, 1917.

PATN FQE.

FRED I?. CORY, 0F SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T0 THE MCCLURE COMPANY, OF SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION.

SPLINE-DOWEL FOR SILO-STAVES.

Application led April 15, 1913.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRED P. Corr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Saginaw, in the county of Saginaw and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spline-Dowels for Silo-Staves; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of stave silos and pertains more particularly to an improved construction for end-joint fastening for the staves.

The objects of the invention are to provide a simple and inexpensive, yet eflicient end-joint fastening or spline that will not only join the ends of two staves together in the ordinary way, but will also serve as a dowel or lateral fastening to firmly fix the said end joint to the lateral edges of the two adjacent staves to prevent endwise slipping of the staves upon each other, thereby checking the tendency of the silo to distort and collapse when subjected to extraordinary wind pressure, as produced by a cyclone.

It has been observed in practice that heavy wind pressure, tending to overturn a stave silo, first causes the top to lean slightly, or in some cases, if the top is strongly secured by guys and the silo is empty, causes the bottom to slip on its foundation. This produces in the tongued and grooved edges of the staves a tendency to slip upon each other, the staves tending to arrange themselves in echelon. ment of the staves permits the silo to distort and renders its collapse easier.

My improved spline and dowel plate is designed particularly to overcome such tendt ency of the staves to slip endwise on each other.

The invention' comprises the devices described and claimed and the equivalents thereof. In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view, broken away in part. showing the ends of two staves joined together by my improved device and the two side staves secured to them: Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the combined spline and dowel plate.

As is clearly shown in the drawing. the spline consists in a metal plate 1 of sufficient width to serve as a spline, when inserted in Specification of Letters Patent.

This preliminary endwise move-v Patented Jan. 16, 1917.

Serial No. 761,235.

the grooves 2 and 3 formed respectively in the upper and lower staves 4: and 5. The spline plate is of such length that its ends project laterally beyond the side edges of the staves L and 5. The ends of the plate are preferably notched as at 6 to form a plurality of laterally projecting wings, as 7, that are forced into and embedded in the side edges of the adjacent staves 8 and 9 when the staves are assembled.

The upper and lower edges 10 and 11 of the wings 7 being spaced apart, form a plurality of independent bearing surfaces against the wood of the side staves, to resist the tendency toward the shearing or endwise slipping movement of the staves as previously described. The spline presents as many of such bearing surfaces, 10 and 11 as there are wings, and affords many times as much resistance against endwise movement of the staves as would be afforded by a spline without such wings and notches. Another advantage of this wing and notch construction is that it reduces the liability of splitting the adjacent staves when they are forced into place against the wings in assembling the silo.

In practice I prefer to arrange the wings of one end of the spline opposite the notches of the opposite end because this arrangement permits a number of splines to be punched from a strip of metal without waste of material.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. The combination with tongue and grooved staves placed end-to-end and grooved at their abutting ends, of a fiat metallic plate resting within the grooves in both of the staves and extending from beyond the. outer edges of the tongues at one side into and beyond the grooves at the other side and laterally extending spaced wings integral with the lateral edges of said metallic plate, the upper and lower edges of 'said wings being substantially horizontal and adapted to be received in the lateral edges of the adjacent staves.

2. The combination with tongue and grooved staves placed end-to-end and grooved at their abutting ends, of a metallic -plate resting within the grooves in the ends of both staves and extending beyond the.

lateral edges of the staves, the lateral edges In testimony whereof, I afIX my signature of said metalllc plate being formed with latin presence of two Witnesses.

@rally exten ing Wings spaced apart, the upper and lower edges of said Wings being sulo- FRED P GORY 5 stantally horizontal, said Wings adapted to Vtn'esses:

pass through the tongues of the adjacent NELLE M. ANGUS,

staves and enter the bodies thereof. JOSEPH V. CARPENTER.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

